Billiard-table.



F. HEPTON.

BILLIARD TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1905.

Minas'ses -];Lv-e41/faz/ 7(3 \Zlani x/v 01 FRANK HEPTON, OF WOOLWIOH, ENGLAND.

BILLIARD-TAB LE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Original application filed. February 15, 1995, Serial No. 245,645. Divided and. this application filed August 2, 1905. Serial No. 272,288.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRA r; HEP'roN, a subject of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, and resident of 28 Upper Market street, ll oolwich, in the county of Kent, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and in Connection with Billiard-Tables and the Like, for which I have made application in the United States of America, Serial No. Eel-5,645, filed February 15, 1905, which has been divided, the subject-matter of this application comprising the divisional application, and of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for securing prepayment of the charges for billiard and other similar tables or boards on which games with balls are played, and particularly concerns the improvements forming the subject of my application for patent Serial No. 245,645, filed February 15th 1905, in which I have described a billiard table having inclined chutes provided beneath the playing bed, and corner receptacles connecting said chutes and the table pockets, for delivering the balls when pocketed to a box or casing containing mechanism for controlling the passage of the balls to an accessible part of such box or casing, whereby the prepayment of the charges is regulated. The present application is a division of the aforesaid application and is based on a form of prepayment controlling mechanism which may readily and advantageously be employed in the box or casing described and shown in my previous application referred to.

Referring to the accompanying drawing Figure 1 illustrates a form of the mechanism according to this invention, and Fig. 2 shows the same mechanism with a slight addition thereto.

According to this invention, 1 dispense with the star wheel as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings accompanying my prior application aforesaid, and 1n lieu thereof I mount in the box a upon a stud b, a ratchet wheel 0, and to engage with such wheel 0 I provide a pawl cl, pivotally connected to the upper end 6 of a counterbalanced or may be spring controlled lever f, the lower end of which is formed as, or rovided with a pan or receptacle g. The ever f is pivoted to the box a at h and the lower part of such lever is arranged to constitute a closing flap relative to the ball-chute i, so that until the locking lever j is deflected by the passage of a coin down the coin-chute 7c and thereby releases the ratchet wheel 0 by disengaging the locking stud Z on the wheel 0, the balls which are directed through the opening m onto the ballchute t in the manner described in my prior application aforesaid cannot pass by the fiap like lever When the locking lever j is de llected as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 1, the weight of a ball traveling down the ball chute i operates to deflect the lever f as shown in dotted outline and the ball is thus delivered into an accessible part it of the box a. Such deflection of the lever f causes the pawl d to rotate the ratchet wheel 0 a distance of one tooth, and the return of the lever f perunits the pawl d to engage the next following tooth. When the balls have passed by the lever f the predetermined number of times, the locking stud Z will again engage the locking lever j and prevent further rotation of the ratchet wheel 0, and also any movement of the lever f until a fresh coin is inserted.

As a check upon the number of times the apparatus may be operated, the ratchet wheel 0 may be arranged to actuate any well known numerating device. In Fig. 2 the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 is so arranged, and it will be seen therefrom, that the locking stud Z on the ratchet wheel 0, will, each time the latter is moved round one revolution engage with and deflect a pivoted bell crank lever 0 against the tension of a spring p which lever at its free end engages a slotted actuating arm q, of, for example, a numerating device r of known type, and so causes a to and fro movement of the arm 1 to take place for actuating the indicating disks. The spring p returns the lever 0 to position for a further operation. by the next engagement of the stud l.

A box or casing a containing mechanism as herein. described may for securing prepayment of the charges for the use thereof, be employed with a billiard or like table constructed according to my prior application aforesaid, and exce t for the different controlling mechanism ocated in such box a as set forth herein, the construction and functions of said box are the same as set forth in my said previous application, t. 6. means are provided for directing the coins into the rear portion of the box and a front is rovided for shutting in the mechanism an leaving only the part at below the ball chute i and (ill lever f accessible to the players, it being understood that an inspection opening may be rovided in the said front for permitting an indicating disk which may be mounted on the stud b to be seen in order that indication When the next payment is to be made, may be given.

Having now described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is A coin controlled apparatus for billiard and like tables comprising a casing, a ratchet Wheel mounted therein, a stud on said ratchet wheel,

a coin controlled locking lever engaging said stud, a pivoted lever and a pawl carried thereby and engaging said ratchet wheel, the said 1 pivoted lever being adapted to be rocked by a all thereby turning the said ratchet Wheel. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK HEPTON.

Witnesses:

ALBERT GEORGE BARNES, LEONARD CoULsoN. 

